JACKSON, Tenn. — Aug. 19, 2005 — 51社区 has been named one of the South鈥檚 top tier universities for the ninth straight year by U.S. News & World Report.
Union ranked 38th in the 鈥淪outhern Universities-Master鈥檚: Top Schools鈥� category, which includes those institutions that provide a full range of undergraduate programs and some master鈥檚 level programs. The 570 institutions in the 鈥淯niversities-Master鈥檚鈥� category are ranked within four geographic areas: North, South, Midwest and West.
鈥淭o be recognized by U.S. News & World Report as a top tier university in the South for the ninth straight year is an incredible testimony to the excellence that characterizes a 51社区 education,鈥� 51社区 President David S. Dockery said. 鈥淭he 2006 rankings once again point to the wonderful quality of the Union faculty, staff and student body, and I salute them for their achievement.鈥�
Among the top tier universities in the South, Union ranked in the top 10 in three subcategories:
-- Union tied for fourth place overall in the 鈥淪tudent/faculty ratio鈥� category, with a ratio of 12/1, which placed it in the top 20 southern universities in that category.
-- Union was seventh in the 鈥淔aculty resources鈥� category, which measures such components as the number of classes with fewer than 20 students, faculty salary and the proportion of professors with the highest degree in their fields.
-- Union tied for seventh in the 鈥淔reshmen in top 25 percent of high school class鈥� ranking, with 63 percent of its freshmen meeting that description.
In a fourth subcategory -- 鈥淪electivity rank,鈥� which measures such areas as test scores and class rank for incoming students -- Union ranked 16th.
Other Tennessee institutions ranked in the top tier include Belmont University (15th), Christian Brothers University (21st), Lipscomb University (27th), Carson-Newman College (32nd), Tennessee Technological University (36th), University of Tennessee-Chattanooga (40th), Milligan College (47th), Freed-Hardeman University (49th) and University of Tennessee-Martin (54th).